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Long span bridge health monitoring system in Japan

Sunaryo Sumitro", Yoshimasa Matsui", Masaru Kono", Takuji Okamoto", and Katashi Fujiib

"Keisoku Research Consultant, Co., Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 140-0013, Japan


bFaculty of Engineering, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan

ABSTRACT

Health monitoring has been one of particular concerns of the engineering community in Japan. Effective monitoring,
reliable data analysis, rational data interpretation and correct decision making are challenging problems for engineers who
specialized in bridge monitoring field. In this paper, the status of health monitoring of long-span bridges in Japan is briefly
reviewed. The monitoring system was developed to be a reliable device to observe the bridge in earthquake and/or typhoon
accurately, besides have a self-check function to sense the disorder of the system itself. Current practices in health
monitoring of bridges are represented by the example of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge monitoring system. The reliability of the
current monitoring system is confirmed by comparing the analyzed simulation results and field-measured results.
Furthermore, a newly developed monitoring system is proposed to provide information for structural health maintenance, so
called Monitoring Based Maintenance (MBM). This monitoring system is easily accessible, economically feasible and
durable through efforts in development of innovative sensors and new generation of automated remote monitoring
technology.

Keywords: Long span bridge, monitoring system, earthquake, wind, structural health assessment, maintenance

1. INTRODUCTION

For long span bridges, such as, the world longest suspension bridge, Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, due to the bridge scale, its
design adopted some newly developed design codes for aerodynamic, seismic stability and design constants. Some newly
developed challenging technologies that have been applied in this super long bridge, such as, wind resistant design, seismic
design, run ability of train on suspension bridge, large scale underwater foundation, working platform on the sea and seabed
excavation method2).

The dynamic response against strong wind and earthquake are subjected to unknown factors those are uneasy to predict.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish a monitoring system that can collect data on dynamic response of the bridge in order
to verify the assumptions and constant used for the design due to strong wind and earthquake. The wind load for long-span
bridges has great importance in their structural design. It usually consists of time averaged wind force and some
contribution of the dynamic response due to the wind fluctuation, but there still remain uncertainties in expression of wind
characteristics to define the accurate and reliable wind load. To overcome this it will be important to compile information of
the wind at many bridge site3). Here, as the example of monitoring results, the deformation characteristics of the bridge
response due to typhoon are elucidated. By comparing the analyzed simulation results through wind tunnel test and field-
measured results4), the reliability of the current monitoring system is confirmed.

Furthermore, by applying newly developed technology in intelligent material") (e.g., TRIP steels) and intelligent systems"),
together with recent development of information and telecommunication infrastructure technology'), a better constructive
monitoring system has been managed5). Particularly, this new bridge management can include remote monitoring to obtain
key information concerning bridge structural health, such as, water flow rates, relative motion, fatigue, and true-stress
occurred in structure member that in an accumulated and combined way contribute to the damage profile of the structure.
This proposed system is easily accessible, economically feasible and durable to provide information for structural health
maintenance. Specifically, the newly developed technology to monitor peak displacements and true-stresses in main cables
and anchorages of the bridges is discussed.
Correspondence: Email: Sumitoro@krcnet.co.jp http://www.krcnet.co.ip
Telephone: 41-3-3763-5150 Fax: 41-3-3763-5523

Health Monitoring and Management of Civil Infrastructure Systems, Steven B. Chase, A. Emin Aktan,
Editors, Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 4337 (2001) 2001 SPIE 0277-786X/01/$15.00 517
2. CURRENT MONITORING SYSTEM
Current long span bridge monitoring system was developed to be a reliable device to observe the bridge in earthquake
and/or typhoon accurately, besides have a self-check function to sense the disorder of the system itself.

2.1 Objective
Generally, the objectives of long bridge monitoring are:
(1) Design verification:
(a) To provide data on structural dynamic response to verify design assumptions used for the strong wind and earthquake.
@) To provide data for developing a better further design in a more rational way.
(c) To develop a reliable health monitoring system that has a self-check function to monitor disorder of the system itself.
(2) Structural maintenance:
(a) To provide data for analyzing and evaluating on the health behavior of bridge structure.
(b) To provide data for assessing structural deterioration and performance degradation.
(3) Traffic management:
(a) To provide data to adjust level of safety traffic control due to earthquake or strong wind.
@) To provide data for assessing post-earthquake or post-typhoon structural reliability to manage traffic flow.

The scope of monitoring includes two major types of parameters, i.e., load effects and responses. The load effects refer to
those due to wind, earthquake, temperature and live loads (movements, highways or railways). The responses refer to
displacements, accelerations, stresses, strains and forces of the members of bridge structure, and displacements and stresses
of main cables. Japan as a country in which natural hazards occurs frequently, such as, typhoon and earthquake, monitoring
of the peak displacements and real stresses of the main cables and their anchorages are the important subjects to be
considered. In the current long span monitoring system the above items have not been taken into account. As the example,
primary monitoring items due to design verification of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Design verification monitoring


Item Main Focus Measured Parameter
Seismic motion and magnitude Acceleration
Earthquake frequency characteristics
Earthquake characteristics
Ground characteristics
Phase difference
Acting seismic force Response acceleration (velocity)
Displacement Displacement
Earthquake dynamic response
Natural frequency
Superstructure seismic motion Response acceleration (velocity)
Basic wind speed Wind direction and wind speed
Design wind speed
Wind characteristics Variable wind speed characteristics:
- Intensity of turbulence
- Suatial correlation
- Power spectrum
Superstructure natural frequency Response acceleration (velocity)
Vibration mode configuration Displacement
Wind dynamic response Structural damping Predominant frequency
Gust response Wind speed and response acceleration
Action of main tower (TMD) Response displacement

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2.2 Sensor configuration of Akushi Kaikyo Bridge
As one of the examples to represent the current condition long span bridge health monitoring system in Japan, dynamical
monitoring of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is highlighted. Figure 1 shows sensor configuration of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in which
following devices were installed.

2.2.1 Seismometer
Two seismometers were installed in 1 A and 4A. To avoid response vibration influence of the 1 A foundation to the original
seismic motion, the seismometer at this point was installed at a place that has a distance about 100 meters from bridge axis.
Another seismometer at 4A was installed at approximately T.P. -20 meters in the granite rock near the 4A concrete block.

2.2.2 Anemometer
In order to determine the wind characteristics of the bridge structure, the distribution of directional wind speed is measured
in the longitudinal and transversal directions. To monitor spatial correlation in the horizontal direction, the anemometer is
installed in the middle of center span.

2.2.3 Accelerometer
To verify the real dynamic structural behavior due to earthquake of each foundation with design values, a three-component
accelerometer was installed in at least one location on each foundation.

2.2.4 Velocity gauge


Velocity gauges were installed to monitor the vibration response due to wind and earthquake of the girders and main tower.

2.5 GPS
GPS units were installed on the tops of the 1A and 2P tower and in the middle of the center span12).The coordinate of 1 A
was fixed as original point (OPT = Original Point Terminal), and other measure point displacements (MPT = Measure Point
Terminal) were calculated in longitudinal, vertical and transversal components.

2.2.6 Girder edge displacement gauge


Displacement gauges were installed on the west and east edges of the 2P center-span side, and on the west side of the 3P
side-span.

2.2.7 Tuned mass damper (TMD) displacement gauge


Since the main tower has a height approximate to 300m, it was confirmed through wind tunnel test that vortex oscillation
would occur following a wind speed even lower than design wind speed. For stabilization purpose, TMDs were installed
inside the tower and its displacement were measured by displacement gauges.

2.2.8 Thermometer
Three cable thermometers were installed in order to compensate with the displacement measured by GPS, and one
atmospheric thermometer was installed in the middle of the center span.

2.3 System network


The monitoring system network of Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is shown in Figure 2 and consist of the following parts:

2.3.1 Terminal

Monitoring sensors were divided into blocks based on their location of installation, and adding with data converters and
transmitters, terminals were established for each block.

Proc. SPIE Vol. 4337 519


520 Proc. SPIE Vol. 4337
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(a) Wind direction (Perpendicular to bridge axis: W=OO) (b) Wind speed

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(c) Lateral displacement of Girder at the center of the bridge


Figure 3. Time history of wind direction, wind speed and girder displacement
during Typhoon 9807 (14:13 - 14:33,22 September 1998)

4. NEW PROPOSED HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM

Bridge structures normally behave elastically which are designed to deform and reverse to their original configuration.
When a bridge structure is loaded beyond its normal limits, it behaves plastically and becomes permanently deformed and
weakened. Often this damage is invisible, but as strains in the bridge structure increase and the bridge structure edges closer
to structural failure'). Changes in girder strains, joint rotations and crack growth are indicators for evaluating structural
integrity. By monitoring such changes closely, it is possible to provide quantitative clarity to assess bridge's structural
health.

New innovative methodologies are proposed to monitor peak displacement and real stress in main cable and anchorage of
the bridges. It is considered that an intelligent monitoring system should be supported by sensors which fulfill 'AtoE'
characteristics as follows: (A)ccuracy : sensor should have a reliable accuracy; (B)enefit: commercial price of the sensor
should be reasonable; (C)ompact: sensor's shape should be small enough; (D)urability: serviceability of the sensor should
be durable and long-lived; and (E)xpress: sensor should be easy to operate and time consumed for measurement should be
close to real time measurement. Here, two types of sensors are introduced, i.e., Peak Displacement sensor (PD sensor) and
Elasto-Magnetic stress sensor (EM sensor).

4.1 Peak displucement sensor


Peak displacement sensor with a digital data acquisition network has been developed5). The goal is to establish a structural
health monitoring system that could be adapted to a variety of measurement applications and that would fulfill 'AtoE'
characteristics7). One channel of the dual-output gauge measures relative displacement with high precision and the other
channel measures peak displacement and passively retains that value for later interrogation. Therefore, with one of these
gauges, the structure after a critical event (such as earthquake or typhoon) can be interrogated, and the maximum distance of
structure deformation during the event can be determined. These sensors require no electrical power except to read out the
stored peak-displacement values. Figure 4 shows the application of peak sensor on monitoring the peak displacement of
bridge pedestal damper.

522 Proc. SPIE Vol. 4337


4.2 Elasto-Magnetic stress sensor
Stress sensor that can reliably monitor true-stress in tendons and cables has been developed6) (Figure 5). The elasto-
magnetic sensor is a novel new approach to monitor cable forces in bridge cables and anchorage^'^). Based on the fact that
the permeability of ferromagnetic materials is a function of magnetic history and applied field (stress and temperature),
permeability function is characterized at technical saturation experimentally. Besides fulfilling AtoE characteristics, the
sensor boasts a theoretically unlimited service lifetime and can be applied to any structure built with circular steel
reinforcements or cables and does not influence structural integrity in any way.

4.3 Real time monitoring system


Multiple sensors are comprised by a complete real time monitoring system with a digital network to acquire, process and
store the measured data. In a periodical intervals, the network returns the data to a central control room by cellular phone,
satellite, or conventional telephone circuit. From there, the data is distributed confidentially via intranet or internet,
therefore, one whose secret password can immediately asses the structures condition from anywhere in the world without
actually visiting structures site as shown in Figure 6 . Such real-time, quantitative information greatly improves structural
safety inspections and provides valuable information for directing timely maintenance relief to those areas of the structure
most in need of repair, so structural lives of bridge structure can be extended.

Peak displacement and real stress monitoring technologies are the most advanced, efficient and effective means to ascertain
structural health. The engineered solutions which are based on these technologies, offer the following benefits: (i) the
systems do not require continuous power supply which can be expensive in remote locations; (ii) the systems measure the
most important variables, peak strain and true stress; (iii) the systems allow data to be transmitted confidentially over the
internet to any location around the world on a real-time basis.

.-

e*
Stress and permeability relationship
$P

Figure 4. Application ,of PD sensor on monitoring peak Figure 5. Application of EM sensor on monitoring
displacement of bridge pedestal damper true-stress in bridge cables

Figure 6 . Proposed health monitoring system network


(modified from SMS system network)

Proc. SPIE Vol. 4337 523


5. CONCLUDING REMARKS
The current status of health monitoring system of long-span bridges in Japan is briefly reviewed and a newly developed
innovative monitoring system is introduced. As the concluding remarks it is summarized as follows:

1) The reliability of the current long span bridge monitoring is confirmed by comparing the analyzed simulation
results through wind tunnel test and field-measured results.

2) New innovative technologies to monitor peak displacement and true-stress are proposed. Furthermore, a real
time monitoring system with a digital network to acquire, process, store and transmit the measured data is
discussed.

3) The proposed real time monitoring system provides valuable information for directing timely maintenance
relief to those areas of the structure most in need of repair, so the following items can be achieved:

a) Planned repair or replacement of the structure before catastrophic collapse;

b) Improved allocation of scarce maintenance funding for the highest risk structure member;

c) Determination of structural health after catastrophic events, such as, earthquake and/or typhoon.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The support from Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority is gratefully acknowledged.

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